Author: Frances

At the start of 2017, I posted an ambitious #2017makenine on Instagram. I made one thing from it but then just kind of abandoned it. But I have been planning my autumn wardrobe, and I’ve decided to update the original nine makes to drop a few things that aren’t a priority for me and replace them with the things I want to wear this autumn.

I have fallen in love with jersey this year. I just love how easy it is to fit jersey compared with woven patterns. I love the neckline options on the Nettie bodysuit, and the option to make a dress or bodysuit. I am hoping that this will turn about to be a nice simple make that could become a wardrobe staple. I have started a toile of this in some cheap black jersey, and it seems lovely to sew up so far.

I always feel like the purest version of myself when dressed in a short jersey dress, tights, and Tatty Devine necklace. I hate that it’s too hot in summer to dress like this! I had to have a really simple jersey shift on this list. As long as it is successful, it will easily end up being the most worn thing in my wardrobe. I want to make this in a red and white stripe to recreate a dress I love that is just too tight and makes me look like a condom full of cotton wool.

I don’t usually go for wrap anything. I know that they are probably perfect for my body type (vaguely hourglass but with massive boobs), but I usually feel quite middle-aged and matronly whenever I wear something wrap-style. When I saw the Elmira cardigan, I thought it would make the perfect first foray into wrap stuff.

I hadn’t considered the Moneta dress until earlier this year when it was time for the Moneta Party organised by Elle from Sew Positivity and Rachel from Rach Against the Sewing Machine. As soon as I saw how good it looked on people of all shapes and sizes, I knew I had to give it a go. So I bought the PDF pattern and got to printing and cutting and began sewing. But then I abandoned it when something went wrong with the neckline. I am resolved to finish this off now because I think it will be another great addition to my handmade Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

These are my plans, but who knows what will happen! I also want to make a couple more Agnes tops and another Cleo dress, but I’m not sure I’ll have the time!

Let me know what you are planning to sew for Autumn/Winter in the comments below.

Well before his arrival in Cincinnati, everyone knew that Chip Bingley was looking for a wife.

Quite by chance, I have chosen a book from The Austen Project as the first post in MY Austen project. The Austen Project is a series where modern authors have rewritten Austen’s novels, presumably in honour of the 200th Anniversary of her death. So far four have been published: Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope, Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid, Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, and Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible which is her retelling of Pride and Prejudice. If I’m completely honest, I was not at all interested in any of these books. I saw the Sense and Sensibility one day and wondered why anyone would even attempt to rewrite Austen’s work. It feels like the height of arrogance to write a version of one of Austen’s novels and keep the title! In fact, I was outraged and offended by the very idea. Then Eligible appeared as a 99p Kindle book, and I thought I’d give it a chance…

So, there are two key things that Curtis Sittenfeld does to change Pride and Prejudice – firstly, she moves the story from the Hertfordshire to Cincinnati, Ohio, and secondly, she makes Jane, Lizzy, Darcy, and Bingley about 15-20 years older than the original characters in Austen’s novel. Making the characters older makes sense. Unless you are part of some deeply religious sect, being unmarried at 22 isn’t a sign of failure. In Eligible, Mrs Bennet’s real concern is whether her daughters will produce any children.

Like Pride and Prejudice, Eligible starts with Darcy and Bingley arriving in the Bennet’s sisters’ world. But they are not two gentlemen from the north of England, they are two doctors, and there is the added excitement of Chip Bingley* being a minor celebrity having starred in a Bachelor-style dating show (called, you guessed it, Eligible). Elizabeth and Jane live and work in New York (as a journalist and yoga teacher respectively) but have recently returned to Cincinnati for a family crisis. Lydia and Kitty are in their early twenties and obsessed with CrossFit, while Mary is fairly reclusive and spends most of her time lurking in her room studying.

I’m not going to say anything else about what Sittenfeld has changed because the joy of this book is finding out how she has translated the novel into modern-day America. As a Pride and Prejudice obsessive, it’s a delicious treat to be able to experience the story in a slightly different way. It’s not my favourite book ever, and it definitely won’t be for everyone. But this book made me cackle with glee on a packed commuter train I think that’s as good a recommendation as you can get.

*Yuck to Chip. Why on EARTH do Americans use Chip as a nickname for Charles?

Welcome to my new blog! I have decided to start off with a series dedicated to my first love, the greatest novelist of all time – Jane Austen.

I have loved Jane Austen since I was six-years-old and the 1995 Pride and Prejudice aired on the BBC. I still remember how it felt to watch it for the first time – I remember how it felt to hate Mr Darcy and think that Wickham seemed to be quite fun! I still feel the same little fizz of excitement when I hear the theme music. And ever since I was six years old, I have hoped to wake up and find that I’ve miraculously become Elizabeth Bennet overnight.

Twenty-two years on, I am still as devoted a fan as ever, I have seen countless adaptations and studied her books up to degree level, but I have not tired of Jane Austen. As this year marks the 200th Anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, I have decided that there is no better tribute than to spend Autumn re-reading all of her novels, re-watching adaptations of her work and enjoying Jane Austen in as many forms as possible. I always love to spend autumn re-reading beloved books, watching costume dramas and eating casseroles so why not make it into a project! I’m not going to write any posts on the novels themselves, I don’t think anyone needs to read a review of Pride and Prejudice (my review would just be OMFG! I LOVE IT SO MUCH), but I will share reviews of Austen inspired/related things.